Belong to Me
by krissyg927
Summary: A wartime Caryl love story. All fluff, no smut.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I was not alive during world war two so please forgive any oversights or mistakes regarding the war itself and what happened. This work of fiction takes place in 1944 and 1945, and after the war ends, as always it is fiction and I am focusing on the characters most of all. I was given a prompt with the song You Belong to Me, a nurse and a wounded soldier, so that's the focus. The relationship, not the war.

Also, I have another story called You Belong To Me, this had nothing to do with that story at all. This prompt was specific with a song and title already so I'm just going to say this is a sweet Daryl and Carol story, not the Mac free for all I wrote a few months ago with the same title.

/

General Douglas MacArthur, commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, declared Manila an open city and ordered the nurses to the island of Corregidor. MacArthur planned to hold Corregidor and the Bataan Peninsula and await supplies and reinforcement from the United States. He sent forty-five nurses from Corregidor to the Bataan Peninsula to prepare two emergency hospitals for U.S. and Filipino forces fighting on Bataan. General Hospital 1, near Limay, received casualties directly from the front lines. The hospital consisted of sixteen wooden buildings and was originally well supplied. More than 1,200 battle casualties requiring major surgery (traumatic amputations and head, chest, and abdominal wounds) were admitted to this hospital within a month. From Wikipedia, The beginning of the Army Nurse Corps in World War Two.

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Carol spent her twenty-third birthday on a plane over the Pacific ocean with a bunch of strangers and she was afraid, really afraid. As she looked out the window and saw nothing but clouds she said a silent prayer for safety, for all of them. She prayed for the pilot flying them, the girl next to her who said her name was Maggie from Georgia and for their future patients.

This was her first time away from home, her first time on a plane as well, she was a country girl who just wanted to do her part and make a difference. So far it had taken her clear across the country from her safe home in Virginia, and now even further still. That wasn't exactly what she expected, but it was what it was.

Carol had a lot in common with Maggie, they were around the same age and both from the south, she hoped they would be good friends. They would need each other as they trudged through this new life they were all thrown into.

Carol's mother and father had both cried when she joined the Army Nurse Corps and it was hard to leave them. But it was the right thing to do, she knew that deep down inside, even if she was scared sometimes. Inspired by the posters of women rallying for the cause, she signed up without telling anyone.

It was the first time she was a part of something bigger than herself, it was eye-opening for her and probably she thought for all the girls on the plane.

Soon these other women beside her would be her best friends, soon she would not be able to think of living her life without them, but today, now, she questioned herself and the choice she had made. It had overtaken her, that feeling that she had to do something and she wanted to. Sometimes a little fear was good for you, she felt alive most of all.

Carol could be home right now in her own bed, but she felt the need to help her fellow man, to do her part to help the war effort. She hadn't planned on being sent right into a war zone though, her fiance Ed was furious with her. He had not enlisted, as a child, he had a seizure, just one, when he had a high fever and with a note from his doctor was excused from military service. He didn't understand why she felt the way she did, he had no such need to serve his fellow man.

Secretly she had lost respect for Ed when he used an old illness to get out of military service. She couldn't wear the engagement ring he had given her on her assignment and secretly, she didn't want to wear it anyway. He was no hero, he wasn't the man she had thought he was.

Even though he was seething over her choice, despite that, Ed would wait for her tour to be over and then they would be married. That was what he wanted and that was what her parents wanted and so, it would be done. This little attack of conscious that she got over the soldiers and the war effort was but a mere blip on Ed's plan for her. In his mind, she was already his wife.

Carol looked around at the young men on the plane with her and the other nurses, they were all so...young; not one person on the plane was over thirty, many of them might not ever see American soil again. The South Pacific would be their last stop.

None of them knew it then, but the soldiers who protected the nurses would be like her big brothers soon, the other nurses, her sisters; they would be like a family. It would take another sixteen hours before they reached, Corregidor and then Bataan and she closed her eyes to get some sleep. She had been a nurse for exactly two months and she was a long way from home.

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Daryl had never been so scared in his whole life, the fear every day was as thick as the humid air they were all breathing. It radiated around and from everyone, he came in contact with, they were all in danger, constantly. At twenty-six Daryl had seen his share of bad times, but not like this. The bad times at home, at the hand of his father was nothing compared to this.

Yet he could not imagine himself anywhere else, this was what he was meant to do, he just knew it.

He had been stationed in the Philippines for nine months now, in the Air Force, usually a pretty calm assignment but it had started getting dicey as of late. There was fighting and bombing everywhere, and now he knew how Merle had felt that day in Pearl Harbor.

Daryl had followed his older brother into war, because he looked up to him and wanted to be like him, Merle was a hero to him and always had been. The day the US entered World War Two Merle had been right in the middle of it all. From Monterey, where Daryl was training to be a fighter pilot, he and his fellow trainees watched as their country finally went to war.

Daryl's brother had been in Hawaii on a cushy assignment until that day when the bombs dropped and the United States joined the war. Now Merle was back home in Georgia having taken a shot to the leg while helping to save two men on the Navy ship they were on. He was injured badly, and now walked with a permanent limp, that effectively ended his military career. Daryl's brother earned an honorable discharge and a purple heart for bravery; Merle was stateside now, home, courting a woman the last Daryl had heard.

Someday he wanted the chance to meet someone, to get married and have a family, but lately, it wasn't what he was thinking about, for now, it was just a dream in the back of his mind. Maybe someday...

Right now, every day it was something new to fear, the Japanese were taking prisoners and fighter pilots like Daryl were getting shot down every day. Survival was the main objective and sometimes he doubted he would make it home; so many of his friends had been killed and wounded.

The biggest fear for any soldier anywhere was being taken prisoner, there had been rumors of the things that happened to prisoners. It was better to die.

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The sky was clear that day, the sun bright and beautiful, Daryl would always remember it that way when he and Shane went up on the routine fly over the land, out into the Pacific and back to Manila, where they were stationed. Twice a week they ran this perimeter, checked the water and the land, made sure there was no action afoot. It was just like any other day if you could say that about a day in the war, but then it all changed suddenly and nothing would ever be the same again.

Out of nowhere, they were hit and it all was a blur from there. There was smoke everywhere and the plane made a nose dive that neither of them saw coming. The water was coming closer and closer as they pulled off their headgear and Daryl tried to get them closer to land. They had to get closer, they would eject and land in the water miles away from land or the nearest aircraft carrier in shark-infested waters.

He remembered a brief conversation with Shane as they prepared to parachute out of the plane, it would play over and over in his mind for days after. The responsibility he felt for the man who was his co-pilot was paramount in his mind, even before his own well being.

"Hang on Walsh, I'm gonna get us out of this!"

"I know it, Captain," Shane replied as Daryl struggled to get the plane righted and towards land.

"Alright, there's Bataan," Daryl said a few minutes later, and the sight of land almost brought tears to his eyes.

"Been nice knowing you, Captain," Shane saluted behind Daryl.

"We ain't gonna die today Walsh, we ain't." He called out as they both ejected out of the plane over the peninsula of Bataan.


	2. Chapter 2

Carol and Daryl meet.

Also, all the research I did told me this song, 'You Belong to Me' came out after world war two but guess what? I don't care, not even a little bit. The prompt was with this song and it's for my bestie so I'm doing it this way. She asked for it to be World War Two and this song, and she always gets what she wants because she is the one woman in this world that I know I can depend on and that has my back no matter what. Friends like that don't grow on trees and I am so grateful to her.  
The Tagalog word I use here is a favorite with the Filipino nurses I work with, we call each other this on the daily.

Sorry in advance for this next paragraph.

Today's lesson girls and boys is don't be a dick. I was awakened to a nasty review on this story, on my day off, those of you who know me, know those are few and far between, so I did not need this person's bullshit. If you have read my work before, and there's plenty of it, you know that I tend to be wordy and overtell the same thing in different ways. Lately, I am trying to be less wordy, less detailed, just to see if I can do it effectively and still tell an enjoyable story. I tried it with one of my Mac stories and I think it still worked although, I felt things were missing. I am the worst critic of my work, I admit that. I also admit I am not F. Scott Fitzgerald and I never said I was, I totally know I am not a professional. I write because I love it, I post it because others want me to. I do it for free and in my spare time, which again is limited. It's all good, I love it. I welcome everyone to read and review, good or bad as long as you are nice about it. They key is Be Nice About It. But this person, who went on anon, like the coward they are, to berate me because of my authors note that stated I might not have all the facts about the war I was writing about, is a dick. My note to readers was an apology if I was inaccurate, but that I did the best research I could, within the context of this fictional story which is not about the war. It's about my ship, it was about a soldier and a nurse during the war. This is not an epic novel about world war two and I never said it was. So, therefore, I did minimal research and may have gotten things a little wrong, which I apologized for in advance. Instead of moving along when he/she saw that it wasn't War and Peace, this person had to attack me and my writing and berate me. It was not necessary to call me a bad writer, it's also not true, and I have no problem saying that. Those of you who know me know what I do when someone does that. I write more, so thanks anon for the inspiration and I wish you well, bless your heart.

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Carol hummed softly to herself as she went about her rounds that night, there were just two patients in her area, the pilot with the blonde hair who had sustained a head injury the day before and the boy who had taken a hit to the shoulder, both were stable.

Behind her was a makeshift desk and a tiny lamp that was set up for them to write their notes, occasionally Maggie, the nurse on the other side would come by with coffee for both of them brought from the mess tent.

Carol smiled as Maggie handed her the paper cup of coffee, as always it had writing on it, a joke with Maggie, in sharp black pen she always wrote 'Bruha' on Carol's cup; it was Tagalog, the language spoken where they were, it meant witch.

They had to get their laughs where they could and when Maggie had learned that word from the locals and it stuck in her brain forever.

Being alone at night in this strange place with all this responsibility weighed heavily on her; Maggie and Tara were just footsteps away if she needed help, but they had their hands full with all the fresh post-op patients. Carol ran the step-down unit at night, along with the doctors and other nurses they could care for twenty soldiers at one time safely and sometimes they had as much as thirty or forty.

Tonight was a light night and she could give the kind of care she was taught how to give instead of this haphazard patch and go that was so common. She had the time, for once, to wipe the brow of this man just a few years older than her who was unconscious from his head injury. The man, Captain Daryl Dixon according to his dog tags was running a fever and she actually was able to bring his fever down as she hummed and sang to herself through the night.

"See the pyramids along the Nile.  
Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle.  
Just remember, darling, all the while,  
You belong to me.

See the marketplace in old Algiers.  
Send me photographs and souvenirs.  
But just remember when a dream appears.  
You belong to me."

As she went about her work, caring for the two men, she hummed and sang for most of the night. They were both going to be fine, the boy who was just nineteen, so much younger than her with the shoulder hit was alert and oriented, sleeping peacefully now. The older man with the concussion would be awake soon, his vital signs were stable and his pupils becoming reactive. It was a good night, it was always a good night when the patients did well, and these two men were going to be fine.

"I'll be so alone without you.  
Maybe you'll be lonesome too.

Fly the ocean in a silver plane.  
Watch the jungle when it's wet with rain.  
Just remember till you're home again.  
You belong to me."

Someone was singing, an angels voice was pulling him towards some sort of light. Was he dead? Daryl didn't even know, didn't care either, his eyes wouldn't open and he could feel hands on his body, and that voice! He wanted to see who belonged to that beautiful singing but he couldn't open his eyes, he struggled to and it was no use.

Where was Shane? Were they both dead and this was heaven? He struggled to open his eyes, he had to find Shane, and he had to know who was singing.

"Hey, singing to your favorite patient again, Carol?" Tara's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "What's buzzin, flyboy?" Tara said as she ran her hand over the man's forehead, "Oh, fevers down."

"Yes," Carol nodded, "Just a little, you know studies show people can still hear us..."

I hear you, I hear you! Daryl screamed in his head. I felt your hand on my face.

"I know," Tara said with a smile and a wink, "And it doesn't hurt that he's so easy on the eyes does it? Who wouldn't sing to this guy?"

Oh Jesus! No! Daryl winced in his mind.

"You give him a bed bath?" Tara said with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Tara!" Carol swatted at her friend, "I'm a professional, there's a war going on here"

"And he's got a nice body." Tara teased, and Carol was all flustered then, of course, she had seen his body, she had seen everything, that was part of her job. He was a sight to behold indeed, broad-shouldered and muscular and she tried not to stare as she took care of him.

Wake up, wake up wake up! He screamed to himself.

"I didn't look..." Carol sighed.

"Yeah right!" Tara giggled and soon they were both giggling. Their soft laughter was almost as beautiful to him as her singing; her name was Carol.

Inside his head, Captain Dixon was smiling and wishing like hell he could just wake up already. He wanted to see what Carol looked like, and find out where Shane was and if he was ok.

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He was awake the next night when Carol and Tara came in for their shift after she dropped off coffee to Maggie, the two nurses walked in together and were greeted by his smiling face right away. The evening shift had him all propped up on pillows and although he still looked bruised and worn out, he was looking better. The previous shift had let him know that Shane was alright and being cared for at a nearby hospital and was set to be sent stateside the next day.

Immediately Carol was struck by his clear blue eyes, it was startling, they were so bright, and with that sandy blonde hair he was more than good-looking; striking came to mind.

"Oh," Tara grinned, "Look who's awake, what's buzzin, flyboy." She said as she walked by, "Good to see you awake."

"Thanks," He answered.

Tara smiled again and disappeared into her side of the tent. Now he was alone with Carol, she with the beautiful voice of his dreams.

It was awkward as they stared at each other for a beat.

"Its..." Carol stammered like a school girl with a crush, "It's good to see you up...I mean awake." She blushed and offered her hand to shake, "I'm Carol Monaghan, Captain Dixon."

"They told me you were on duty tonight, I heard you, Miss. Monaghan," He said as he shook her hand and held it just a little longer than was proper, "I heard you singing."

Carol sat down in the chair next to him, "You did?"

"Just remember darling all the while, you belong to me," He sang and that made her smile, and at that moment Daryl knew he wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.

"Did you hear anything else," A darker blush rose to her cheeks and he was sure he could fall in love with her.

Daryl had heard it all, "Just singing," He said as he studied her face, she was relieved by that, he saw that she was embarrassed that maybe he had heard what Tara and she had said.

"Is there anything you need?" She asked and he smiled at her then; she thought he might be flirting with her, "A pillow or a blanket?" She said quickly before he caught on to how nervous she became all of the sudden.

"I'm fine right now," He answered, "But later can I have a pen and paper?"

"Sure," Carol replied, feeling more in control now. He was just a good-looking man, that was all, she needed to pull herself together. In four days he would be gone forever, back to fly planes and fight for the cause that they both believed in.

"I wanna write to my brother, let him know I'm OK," He replied, "Can't sleep, I guess I slept enough anyway."

"That's all normal Captain Dixon," She replied.

"Please call me Daryl," He said, "Anyone who takes this good care of me and sings the way you do gets to call me by my first name."

He was flirting with her!

"Call me Carol then," She smiled and went to find him a notebook and a pen.

/

Carol sat with him later as he wrote the letter to Merle telling him he was safe and recovering. He would be sent to a base in California after this to fully recover and re-qualify to fly again. He wanted to be sure Merle knew he was safe.

They talked most of the night about music and books and the things that they liked. Carol and Daryl had a lot in common and were close in age. They both enjoyed reading, and he commented that Carol had a few books on her makeshift desk.

She explained further to him that Shane was going to be airlifted to the states. While he had been knocked out Shane had waved down the rescue team and made sure they both got the help they needed.

"He sounds like an excellent co-pilot," Carol mused.

"Yes, there's no better, he saved my life I think," Daryl replied.

"Corporal Walsh said it was your fancy flying that saved you both," Tara said as she was walking by and handed Carol a clipboard with forms to sign.

"You saw him?" Daryl asked Tara.

She nodded, "Yup before they transferred him, he was worried about you."

"With good reason I guess," Daryl said with a smile.

"You had quite a bump on the head," Tara answered, "But luckily nothing worse, you'll be getting out of here soon."

"Yeah," He answered absentmindedly and his eyes searched for Carol's in sadness. How did that old saying go? Life contains but two tragedies, one is to never get your heart's desire, the other is to get it.

Thank you for reading, I love you all xoxoxo


	3. Chapter 3

"You're from Charlottesville?" He asked her on the third day after she had just brought him another blanket and pillow. She was always doing things like that for him and so easy to talk to. He didn't sleep well at night and it helped to know she was around, "No kidding? I'm from Atlanta."

Daryl enjoyed Carol's company and he was running out of small talk to make with her. If they were back home he would ask for her phone number, take her out dancing, but they weren't. Now they were reduced, after three nights together to talking about home, actually, he was surprised it didn't come up sooner.

She nodded, wishing that they had met in another place and in another time, back home, where they lived just a few hours apart. Before she had become tangled up with Ed, her parents would have loved Daryl. But here they were, all the way on the other side of the world in the middle of a war on an island no one had ever heard of.

"Me too," Maggie said with a smile as she walked by, " Montgomery actually. But close enough right, close enough to Virginia too?"

Maggie wasn't helping anything, she had stars in her eyes over some boy from her hometown who was currently on a Navy ship halfway across the world. As a believer in romance and love conquering all, Maggie never stopped yapping about Glenn and their plans for after the war. Carol was invited to the wedding already, it would be the month after they all returned home.

Maggie teased Carol the next morning as they walked back to their barracks; Maggie was convinced that she and Daryl should make a plan to meet up after they went home. She was such a believer that she said she was going to invite Daryl to her wedding to make sure he and Carol saw each other again.

Maggie wanted to make it happen, she said she saw a spark between them and Carol told her she was imagining things; furthermore, Carol reminded Maggie that she was engaged to Ed.

Maggie just laughed, remarking that 'she wasn't married yet' and 'sometimes things change.'

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"Do you like chocolate Daryl?" Carol said and handed him the half of a Hershey bar that she had been hoarding from her stash from her time on the base in Monterey, California before she was sent to Bataan. He was leaving the next day, the other boy had been transferred out already and Daryl was next. He was alert and lucid for forty-eight hours and that was the criteria to send him back to the states to qualify again to fly.

She sat down next to him and placed her book in her lap to give him her complete attention and he took her hand quickly. Before she could react, he kissed her fingertips and then her palm, looking up at her from under his bangs. There was nothing he could do for her to show his gratitude, from the minute he arrived she had been doing so much more for him than she had to.

"Thank you for all the things you did for me," He said as he let go of her hand, "I appreciate it so much."

Carol slid her hand back and took his in hers, and they just stared at each other. She was trembling from his touch, from the feel of his lips on her fingers. In a daze she wondered, what would kissing him feel like?

"Is something happening here?" Daryl asked.

"I think so, but maybe it shouldn't." Ed's face flashed before her eyes, the only way to get away from him would be to fake her own death and stay here in the Philippines.

"Why not?" He asked, "Someday we might both be back in the US."

She seemed sad then after he said that, "Some things are too good to be true Daryl, maybe we..."

"Listen," He said, "When this war is over, I'm going back home and I'm gonna look you up."

Carol didn't have the heart to tell him that it was unlikely they would both survive this war, even more unlikely that she would get away from Ed; her parents liked him, it was a done deal.

Probably Daryl would forget about her after he went to back Monterey, then got assigned somewhere else but it was so nice to think about.

"Ok Daryl," She replied, with a smile, there was no harm in a little wishful thinking was there? "That would be nice."

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, it's nothing," She said closing the book quickly.

"Let me see," He took the book from her and opened it, turned a few pages, then in a soft voice he began to read to her.

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;  
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;  
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;  
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.  
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,  
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;  
And in some perfumes is there more delight  
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.  
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know  
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;  
I grant I never saw a goddess go;  
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:  
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare  
As any she belied with false compare."

"Sonnet 130, Daryl?"

"It's my favorite," He said, meeting her eyes, "It's true love don't you think?"

"I do think he was in love with her, despite her flaws," She answered.

"Or because of them," He said and handed the book back to her.

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At three am he still wasn't tired and on his last night there he didn't want to waste time sleeping anyway. It might be a long time before he saw her again, and he did intend to see her again. Finally, he decided to just go for it, there was nothing left to lose.

Of course, he had taken her completely by surprise when he reached for her hand when she came in and asked for a kiss goodbye.

"Just one kiss?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face and in his eyes as she sat down in the chair next to his bed, "For a soldier far from home?"

Carol nodded her head, she was never going to see him again and she wanted that kiss, even if it was improper. His hand slid over hers and he squeezed lightly, brushing his finger across her knuckles; it was like the fourth of July in her mind. Fireworks.

When his lips touched hers softly Carol felt her heart speed up immediately, this was different, this wasn't like kissing Ed. His lips were always stiff and unyielding, Daryl's were soft with just the right amount of pressure; loving. Then she felt his tongue across her lips, begging for entrance; Ed never kissed her like that. She opened her mouth the way he wanted her to, she had heard of french kissing, she'd just never done it; then she felt his hand dig into her hair.

Her hand gripped his strong arm and she was reminded again of how hard his body was, how broad his shoulders were, how wonderful his arms might feel. His kiss was everything she dreamed a kiss should be, and this was the only one she would ever have.

To her utter surprise, she moaned out loud as her stomach somersaulted in her body. This feeling, as if she was going to burn up alive was so foreign to Carol. She wondered if he felt the same thing and when they separated she searched his eyes, seeing something there that equally scared her and gave her joy. He wanted her, it was obvious in the way he was breathing hard and was looking into her eyes so intently.

"That was some kiss," Carol practically panted and Daryl nodded.

"Figured if I was only gonna get to kiss you once in my life I'd better make it a good one." He said as they both sat there trying to catch their breath, "That is unless I can convince you to run away with me after the war."

"Kiss me again."

He kissed her again, this time harder and more demanding, and too soon Carol broke away from him.

"Wait, there's something you should know," Carol sighed, meeting his eyes.

"I know," He said softly, "I know you're engaged, Maggie told me,"

"What? When?"

"The other day," He answered in a way that told her he didn't care that she was spoken for, "I told her you were cute and ..."

"Oh," She was surprised he wasn't discouraged by it one bit.

"I don't care, I'm going to steal you from him." He replied as if it was decided already, "See me when we get home, just once. If after that you still want to marry him, I'll go away and leave you to it."

"I'm not a prize to be won," She countered, her hackles were up and she was a little angry at him. He had some nerve.

"Oh but you are, don't you know that?" He took her hand, "Doesn't he make you feel like you're the best thing that ever happened to him? You are the prize, Carol?"

She shook her head, but couldn't stay mad at him, not when he said such sweet things to her.

"Do you still want another kiss?" He asked and Carol felt herself nodding against all reason, her mind was blank except for thoughts of him.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't forget this story I swear. I got distracted by a bad man.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

 **Chapter Text**

The war was over the next year and Maggie's man was part of the invasion of Normandy, he was decorated as a hero and sent home to wait for her. Everyone went back to the states slowly, in trickling phases until everyone was reunited with their families and loved ones. Carol went back to Virginia, Maggie to Georgia to plan her wedding and Tara to New York City. Tara's fiance, another nurse named Alisha was back a month after she was and all was right with the world.

Daryl ran into Shane in Monterey before the war was over and they were assigned to Lakehurst Naval Air Station, in New Jersey for the duration of the war. They never saw combat again after their tour in the Philippines and spent the remainder of their tour guarding what was left of the Hindenburg and flying watch over Cape May and Long Beach Island.

After he went back to Georgia and one day bumped into Maggie and her man Glenn while they were in Atlanta shopping for their new home. He and Merle were coming out of the local diner after devouring two plates each of pancakes and bacon when he heard her calling to him from across the street.

"Its good to see you out of bed," Maggie said with a laugh as the four of them walked down the street after introductions were made, "Did you see Carol yet?" She asked with her usual enthusiasm.

Daryl was quiet and next to him Merle raised an eyebrow, "Who's Carol?"

Daryl shook his head, he had thought of nothing else, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. All that talking and flirting had been fun; he wanted to see her, but he feared she would send him away.

"She's this cute nurse that he needs to go see," Maggie answered for him, "They had a thing."

"A thing," Merle said as they all stopped at a crosswalk, looked both ways to avoid oncoming traffic and then continued on, "You don't say?"

"It's too late Maggie, I know it is," Daryl replied.

"No, no it's not, she ain't married yet," Maggie cried as she pushed him down the street.

"Married?" Merle followed behind Maggie, "We breaking up a wedding?"

"No!" Daryl exclaimed as he turned back to them as if they were crazy.

"We're breaking up a wedding!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Go get her man," Glenn said excitedly, "Go get your girl."

"I'll drive you, little brother!" Merle said and it was a done deal after that.

/

Ed was an absolute beast when she got home, demanding that she never leave again and that they marry immediately. Her parents and Ed were planning every minute of a wedding she had no interest in at all. She was happy to be home of course, but her heart was a million miles away and she didn't think she would ever get it back.

Daryl was still on her mind, his beautiful light hair and steel blue eyes came to her in her dreams almost every night. But that was all, she had been home for four months, she couldn't forget him and he had not contacted her.

She and her mother had gone for all her dress fittings and the hall was rented and paid for. Her flowing veil hung on the back of her bedroom door and she looked at it from her bed sometimes and felt anxiety growing within her chest.

He had not called and he had not come for her, she had known Daryl would forget her; it was good that she didn't get her hopes up too much. She and Ed would be married in two weeks time and she was talking herself into the idea daily. It would be OK, this was the way it was supposed to be.

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The sun was hot that day as she sat on the front porch of her parent's house, her house for only a few more weeks. She ran her hand through her sweaty hair and took a sip of cold iced tea and contemplated her future. Ed was on his way over and she needed to get inside and change out of these clothes and put on a dress. He didn't like to be kept waiting and he didn't like for her to wear shorts, even on the hottest of days.

"No wife of mine is going to flaunt herself all over town," He would say as if she was some kind of whore.

There was someone walking down the street towards her, she watched the man as he got closer and noticed he had on a bomber jacket and sunglasses. Something about him was familiar, but he was just a stranger it seemed from the distance.

Carol stood up from the stairs and shielded her eyes, it must be a trick, it couldn't be...but it was. Before she knew what she was doing she was running towards him. Ed was coming down the street in his car and called out the window as she ran past him.

"Hey, Carol, where you going?" He called to her then stopped and watch her run into another man's arms. The embrace he witnessed was one that belonged behind closed doors in his opinion. Carol leaped into the man's arms, wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him right there in the street.

They were together for the rest of their lives.

The End


End file.
